Agricultural News

In Case You Missed It - Josh Gaskamp of the Noble Foundation, joined Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays in studio last week to discuss the feral hog problem plaguing farmers across Oklahoma. With feral swine extermination being one of his specialities, Gaskamp updated Hays on the work being done to bring the hog situation under control. You can watch the video of their conversation that aired last Saturday on KWTV News 9, by clicking on the PLAYBOX below.

According to Gaskamp, despite only recent attention to the situation, the feral hog problem in Oklahoma and across the United States for that matter, has been ongoing really for some time now.

“Feral hogs were introduced to Oklahoma 30 or 40 years ago and they’ve been around in low numbers in the South,” Gaskamp said. “But as the glorification of hog hunting came in, these animals moved on trailers to new locations. At the same time, they distributed themselves across the state because populations started getting longer and out growing their local habitats.”

This problem subsequently spread rapidly out of control. Gaskamp cites a study done in 2000 that revealed hogs caused an annual cost of agricultural damage of $1.5 billion. He says with commodity prices much higher than in 2000, that figure is exponentially more than when it was initially reported. In an effort to help reign in the damage of wild hogs, the Noble Foundation is training producers to deal with hog population on and around their land. Gaskamp recommends that in order to be effective, farmers should join forces and work together to control large areas - otherwise he said the individual efforts of one farmer in reality does very little. The most common tactic he recommends though in getting rid of hogs, is trapping.

“There are a whole host of different control strategies that a land owner has at their disposal,” he said. “But we often tell producers the most effective one is trapping.”

You can also listen to Gaskamp's off-camera conversation with Hays about the ongoing efforts to depopulate feral swine in the state, by clicking or tapping the LISTEN BAR below.

Listen to Gaskamp's conversation with Hays about the ongoing efforts to depopulate feral swine in OK